Hanekraai Rosé

This versatile rosé pairs wonderfully with light salads, seafood, or as an elegant aperitif.

As budding young winemakers back in 2001, we sometimes struggled to find decent wines we could afford. My brother Philip and I were involved with our family winery (Joostenberg Wines) and José was busy at his (Stark-Condé Wines).We weren’t looking for rockstar bottles that cost a fortune. But we had pretty high standards (in our own opinion) and wanted wines we could enjoy with our friends, most of whom were also in the wine industry. We were wine geeks in need of an everyday wine. We saw a niche in the market and got to work but first had to come up with a name for this new project. To keep peace in the families, we took our wives’ initials (we each have one wife!) — and that is how we explained to Marie, Anette and Nicky that we were going to be “busy” most weekends. “It’s for you!” we told them. We immediately got to work in an old tractor shed and that first year, we made a total of 600 cases of Pinotage. – Tyrrel Myburgh, co-founder

Dry-farmed vineyards in the Cape coastal region, between Paarl and Riebeek Kasteel. Dry-farming results in small, succulent berries with intense flavour and texture.

Grapes were hand-picked into bins and whole bunches were tipped directly into the press to minimise oxidation. Free-run juice was gently extracted while soft pressings were added, until the colour of the juice reached the desired spectrum. After fermentation was completed in tank, the wine was racked from the lees and kept at 16°C for 4 months before bottling took place.